


Lies About Lies

by Lockwyn



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2018-10-15 01:57:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10548102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lockwyn/pseuds/Lockwyn
Summary: Finally back from the dead after the takedown of the B.O., Shinichi Kudo reconnects with KID at a Heist after admitting to him that Shinichi Kudo and Conan are one and the same. But what happens when disaster strikes and suddenly the words coming out of the detective's mouth are that it was all a lie?Based on Shana_Fujioka's prompt "The Lie"





	1. The New Beginning and The Abrupt End

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shana_Fujioka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shana_Fujioka/gifts).
  * Inspired by [KaiShin/ShinKai Prompts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8635951) by [Shana_Fujioka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shana_Fujioka/pseuds/Shana_Fujioka). 



It was a dark night for a full moon, storm clouds racing across the night sky and threatening to unleash their anger and sorrow any moment. The pair squared off with each other, oblivious to it all as the one grasped at the words he was looking for and the other eyed him with wary curiosity.

“You’re a new face… for my heists anyway. What does a famous high school detective who specializes in homicide want with a harmless jewel thief like me?” the white clad figure inquired.

“I’m not actually… A new face that is.” The detective responded with awkward uncertainty. “I’m Kudou Shinichi now... but last we met I was Conan Edogawa.” Shinichi’s words were light, but matter-of-fact. He took a deep breath before continuing. “And if you don’t mind KID, I’d like to continue things as they were when I was Conan.”

He gave a very Conan-like smirk and added. “After all, you know you get bored without your favorite critic.”

KID didn’t know how to respond. On one hand, he words didn’t make sense. But on the other hand, it was true he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the smaller detective in a while, and Shinichi _was_ definitely giving off a very Conan-like vibe. And only Conan knew about his favorite critic.

“Hmm, I’m not quite sure what to believe detective. While Conan certainly doesn’t think like a typical 8-year-old, you having been an 8-year- old less than two months ago seems rather far fetched.”

Shinichi sighed, shifting his stance wearily. “It’s a long story KID, but to keep it short, let’s just say a certain organization tried to get rid of me with an experimental poison that should have killed me without a trace and instead reversed ten years of my life. It wasn’t exactly pleasant, or easy, to reverse.”

 

KID recalled the recent news about Kudou Shinichi’s return and speculations regarding his involvement in the miraculous takedown of a huge criminal organization that just so happened to coincide with it. It was a pretty far-fetched story, but thinking of him as a genius high-school detective trapped in a child’s body actually suddenly made a lot of things about Conan Edogawa make a lot more sense.

Hearing the tromp of the task force finally making their way up the stairwell towards them, KID sighed. “Well I suppose for now I’ll just have to give you the benefit of the doubt detective. One of these days though, you’re going to have to tell me the long version of that story.” And with a wink, he disappeared just as the officers burst through the door.

* * *

 

It was surprisingly easy to fall back into the ways of their old rivalry, Kaito finding it easier and easier to believe Shinichi was Conan with each new heist. After all, who else unerringly made a habit of kicking soccer balls at harmless thieves with deadly force? Or always managed to catch onto his disguise with unnerving accuracy? And he was always quick with an assist when KID needed it, in just the same, unobtrusive and subtle way Conan always was. Of course, there were the little things he knew as well. Little things that only Conan could know.

Kaito decided he liked it. Liked _him_. This game they played had been fun with Conan. But with Shinichi, there was a new element to the game. Something that Kaito couldn’t quite name, that made his heart race for entirely new reasons he wasn’t used to.

It was in the moments of sudden and unexpected closeness, the way Shinichi sometimes said his name, and the twinkle in the detective’s eye when he was a step ahead, and knew it.

And just when Kaito was finally getting comfortable, finally had the name for _it_ on the tip of his tongue, it all came crashing down. One moment they were exchanging playful, harmless banter, and the next Shinichi was pushing him off the roof just as he heard the all too familiar sound of the sniper’s shot. Minutes later he was mingling with the task force as they burst onto the roof to find Shinichi lying there motionless on his stomach as the red on his back bloomed, and the blood steadily pooled around him.

* * *

 

A quiet and familiar beeping greeted Shinichi, easing him back into the world of the living and prompting memories of what happened.

_I’m in the hospital? So I survived then…_

His eyes opened slowly, and he winced and groaned at the blinding whiteness. Only the awareness of footsteps pacing back and forth beside his bed kept him from letting his eyes stay closed a while longer.

The detective glanced over to find a rather displeased KID glaring at him with poorly concealed worry.

“Why did you push me away?! You could have died!” the thief demanded, his pacing come to a stop beside him.

“But I didn’t, right? I'm alive, and so are you. So everything’s fine, it doesn’t matter.”

“But it does! You saved my life and I’m grateful, but my rule is no one gets hurt, especially you! You were this close to dying Shinichi! _This Close!_ ” KID raged quietly, illustrating with his fingers just how close the detective’s brush with death had been.

“Well, what’s done is done and nothing can change it. I’m just glad _you_ aren’t _dead_ KID.” _You’re more important than me… you make people smile._ _You make me smile…_ The detective kept the thoughts to himself as turned his head away and put an arm over his eyes to hide his expression.

“Yes, but… I don’t ever want to see you get hurt again.” The thief answered in chagrin.

“Why do you care so much?” _Just leave me alone. You’ll get yourself killed around me._

“You’re my favorite critic, of course I care.”

“Your ‘favorite critic’ is Conan…”

“Well yes, but you _are_ Conan.” KID countered, confused. What was Shinichi trying to get at?

“… I’m _not_ . I lied so that I could attend the heists and you would take me seriously from the beginning. I’m _not_ Conan.”

“Why are you lying…!?” The Moonlight Magician exclaimed, shocked and disbelieving.

“It’s not a lie. Conan died in the crossfire of the takedown.”

There was silence. KID didn’t say anything. The detective waited for a reply, but in the end a quiet swish was all he heard, and when he pulled his arm back to look at the room, he was alone. KID was gone.

Scrunching his eyes closed against the tears, Shinichi let out a shaky breath. It was for the best. He didn’t need… didn’t _deserve_ KID worrying about him. It was better for KID to hate him for his lies and keep his distance. If only this didn’t mean he had to lose the one place he’d felt he’d belonged since returning… but maybe it just meant he didn’t even deserve that much. _I'm sorry KID._

* * *

 

To say KID was angry would have been an understatement. He’d been convinced, thoroughly _convinced_ that Shinichi really was Conan. And quite frankly, at this point, whether he was Conan or not hadn’t even mattered to him anymore. He’d loved being with Shinichi, felt something special for Shinichi, and been utterly terrified at the prospect of losing him. And now he didn’t know what to think. Neither equation added up.

Shinichi had either lied to him about being Conan for some unfathomable reason (why even do that? Why not just approach him as himself?), or he was lying about lying and telling an even worse lie. And for what? _He’s driving you away_ . The rational part of his brain told him. He swatted it aside, not ready to listen to rationality. He was busy feeling pissed, and hurt, and _confused_ thank you very much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, finally a multi-chapter fic. I'm not finished with it yet, but I've got three chapters so far and i'm a bit unsure where I want to go with it next. I figure maybe if I go ahead and post it you guys can give me some ideas. So here's chapter one. I'll probably post the other two within the next few days.  
> Please let me know what you think so far.


	2. Emotional Cocktail (pt 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After walking out on Shinichi's upsetting confession, Kaito heads home. What's he thinking? What's he feeling? What will he do?

In an angry, pained, and confused daze he made his way to the closest station to head back to Ekoda. It really was all very cruel. Those words… Hearing that Conan had died.. They'd been as much a stab in his heart as watching Shinichi get shot and hearing Shinichi say it was all a lie. That he'd lied to him about being Conan. And it was just when he'd finally convinced himself that they really were the same person too. It was like they had a connection. They shared something special and being around the detective had felt exciting, interesting, inspiring… Natural and...just _so_ right. At least for him. Kaito chewed his lip, biting back the emotions threatening to break through his poker face and tear him apart.

Upon arriving home, he stomped upstairs to his bedroom, and somewhere in the back of his mind he was grateful his mother wasn’t home to be disturbed by it.

Dropping into bed with a sigh, Kiato pulled out a deck of cards and let his hands go through the motions of his many well practiced tricks and shuffles while he calmed his mind and let his anger simmer on the back burner while he invited rational thought back in. Hurt aside, if he was going to be angry, he might as well know what he should really be angry about. Blind anger would lead to stupid decisions and regrets.

He considered Shinichi’s words carefully, weighing what he’d said against what he knew and what was plausible. He _had_ done his research after Shinichi had first approached him that night.

He’d found that Kudou Shinichi had dropped off the radar two years ago. Right around the time Conan Edogawa had first made his appearance in Japan. There'd been no travel records of his arrival. And right about the time Kudou Shinichi returned, Conan Edogawa had supposedly made a sudden return to America. Except, there hadn't been any travel records for him _then_ either. He fought back the sting of tears as he once more recalled those painful words about Conan’s demise, and then he shook his head. He’d found no hard evidence that Conan Edogawa had ever really existed in either Japan or America prior to two years ago, only false trails that suggested his existence. And then there all physical and mental similarities. Both had considerable skill handling soccer balls and a penchant for kicking them at harmless thieves with deadly force and accuracy. Both had amazingly sharp deductive skills, and he’d always found it unnatural how jaded the child had been about the death and violence he always seemed to be getting himself mixed up in. And then there were things like how Shinichi knew Conan was his “favorite critic.” A term of endearment he’d only ever used when he was alone with Conan, and one which Conan could have admittedly mentioned to Shinichi. But that didn’t account for the innumerable small details only Conan could have known and never would have thought, or had the time, to share with his supposed “cousin.” Crazy as the story was, all evidence pointed to it being true. Which meant Shinichi had told him a cruel and hurtful lie to drive him away.

His anger flared again at the conclusion, and the reflexive clench of his fist sent cards scattering everywhere.

What the hell was Shinichi thinking? After all they’d been through together, why drive him away now? After going through the trouble of reestablishing contact with him after Conan’s “return home”. After making Kaito fall so hard for- He halted his own thought process, re-examining that last thought. He’d fallen for Kudou Shinichi. That was what _it_ was. That new element to their little game.

He was in love with Kudou Shinichi, and damned if he was going to let it end there. But he’d have to wait… He couldn't see the detective again yet. He still had a bone to pick with Shinichi and he needed to give the detective time to recover so he didn’t inadvertently kill the guy he was in love with in his anger.

* * *

 

The next few weeks in the hospital were miserable for Shinichi.

Ran visited him regularly of course, but she wasn't really the one he wanted to see. Which was of course made worse by the fact that he knew he couldn't see the one he wanted to. After all, he'd driven him away himself.

A visit from Hattori took his mind off the Phantom thief for a while with discussions about new a detective show recently airing and Hattori’s latest cases. But in the end the other detective had to return to Osaka and Shinichi was left once more to flounder in his painful thoughts and dark memories.

The bullet that had nearly pierced his heart was unique. A sort of trademark or calling card for a certain sniper. A Black Organization sniper.

He'd pushed KID out of the way, but he had no doubts or delusions as to who the target was meant to be. He'd only ensured the thief hadn't gotten caught in the crossfire of the mess Shinichi had failed to fully clean up. He wasn't going to lose anyone else to the B.O.

For probably the hundred-something-eth time, he bit back another sob, rubbing the tears back into his eyes… Or at least trying to. He'd thought he was finally free of them. He'd really been enjoying his time with the Phantom thief. Someday he might have even worked up the courage to… He shook his head, refusing to finish the thought. He needed to stop dwelling on things he'd never be able to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, finally a new chapter. Sorry for the wait. Days that aren't usually busy were busy at work and I realized I needed to work in some real feels somehow. It took till last night for the words to finally come to me, but here we are.  
> Yeah, I know. This Chapter is ridiculously short. And I almost just went ahead and added the rest of what I've got on here. But given the way the next bit starts I really feel like it should be it's own chapter. So I'll upload it later tonight after work. Anyway hope you enjoy ^-^  
> 


	3. Emotional Cocktail (pt 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinichi's finally getting discharged from the hospital. The last person he expected to pick him up was Kid. What now?

Two weeks later Shinichi was wheeled out of the hospital by the nurse, both of them looking to spot the person they’d been assured was picking him up. The name given had been Kuroba. A name associated with some friends of his parents that he barely remembered meeting once when he was really young.

Shinichi spotted him first and stared. He was in civilian clothes, no sign of his signature hat and monocle, and his messy brown hair looked incredibly soft and touchable. But there was no doubt that was KID.

 _KID..._ He was confused, tongue-tied and slightly flabbergasted. The thief wasn't supposed to be there. At all. Let alone looking so normal and touchable and… God's, was that even a disguise?

The possibly undisguised thief approached them, greeting the nurse affably and introducing himself to her as Kuroba Kaito, before helping Shinichi out of the wheelchair and dismissing her.

The detective swallowed. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I'm here to pick up my favorite critic.” The words were said light-heartedly enough, and there was an unspoken 'of course' in his tone like it was the most obvious thing in the world that he should be there right now, but the look the thief leveled on him was frighteningly serious. “We need to talk.”

 

Shinichi frowned and shook his head. “There's nothing to talk about. I told you. I  lied. I'm not your critic. I'm not _Conan_. I never was! Conan’s dead. It was a mistake approaching you and pretending otherw-ingh!” He was cut off with a groan of pain as KID suddenly pinned him to the wall where he could fully face the detective while keeping hold of him.

“Stop lying Shinichi! Stop telling cruel lies to drive me away!” The thief screamed at him. “You _know_ too much! Things Conan never could have told you- Stop shaking your head! Why are you so hellbent on driving me away all of a sudden!?”

 

It took Shinichi a few tries to find the air to speak. But he looked at KID with way more bravado than he felt and a twisted smirk. “He _did_ tell me everything KID. It was a game we had! A detective’s exercise. I was in contact with him the whole time. He'd recount every detail of every encounter he had with you. It was an exercise to keep his mind sharp and distract me for a bit from all the death and darkness of the Black Organization.” he argued convincingly, but the thief was already shaking his head.

“One problem with that story Shinichi. If Conan was truly your younger cousin, an entirely separate person from you, you would have never involved him with that case! You wouldn't have been in contact with him at all because it would have put you _both_ at risk. You certainly wouldn’t have let him anywhere near the fallout of the takedown! And do I even need to mention the fact that Conan Edogawa didn’t exist before you dropped out of the public eye? There were certainly plenty of false trails suggesting he existed, but they were just that, _false!_ ”

Shinichi glared at the thief for a moment, he figured KID would have done some research, but did he have to be that damn thorough? Slumping in defeat, his chin dropping to his chest to limit what KID could see of his face, he sighed tiredly.

“Believe what you want. What does it really matter anyway? Can't you take a hint? I'm tired of this game KID. I'm trying to cut ties with you.”

 

Shinichi felt the weight of the thief’s body lighten against him, warm hands lifting off his his shoulders.

 _This is it._ He thought. _I’ve finally done it._

Before the awful, painful, weight in his chest could crush him though, he realized that instead of the thief pulling away fully like he expected, he suddenly found those warm hands on his face, pulling him forward till their lips met, and holding him in place. He was vaguely aware of the confirmation in the back of his conscious somewhere that KID really wasn't wearing a disguise.

And then their lips were parting and the thief was still holding him in place as he pulled away just enough to meet his eyes.

“It's too late for that Shinichi.”

 

The moment stretched in agonizing uncertain silence, and then the detective was slumping bonelessly against Kaito’s body, no longer able to support his own weight.

“Shinichi!?” The magician panicked, his anger and desperation replaced by worry and fear that he might have gone too far. What was he thinking shoving the man he was in love with against a wall literally minutes after his discharge from the hospital?

The detective’s body hitched a bit, and then shook a little. As it continued, he started picking up on small sounds coming from the detective until it dawned on him that Shinichi was laughing. It was the sort of cracked laugh of someone who felt like they were losing their mind.

“Shin...ichi?” Kaito frowned uncertainly as he adjusted his grip to better hold the detective up.

“I just can’t do anything right can I KID? I can’t die from poison the way I’m supposed to. Can’t properly bring down the world’s largest crime syndicate without some of it getting away. And now here you are kissing me when you’re supposed to hate me. Whatever you choose to believe, either way I've _lied_ to you. And yet you're _still_ here!” The detective raised his head to glare at Kaito. “Being around me is going to get you _killed_ you stupid thief.”

Kaito frowned.“Is that what this is about Shinichi? Are you seriously pushing me away because you think you put me in danger?”

“It’s not a thought, it’s a fact.” the detective grumbled.

“Shinichi, I’ve had people shooting at me from the shadows since I took up the mantel of Kaitou KID. It’s nothing new! And if anything, being around me is keeping _you_ alive.”

And there he was, shaking his head again. This damn stubborn detective. And suddenly he just looked tired and exhausted… and resigned.

“Just take me home and stop making a target of yourself you damn thief.”

Clearly the discussion was over, for now at least.

Knowing better than to continue arguing when Shinichi was clearly at his limit for the day, Kaito helped him to the car. He knew he was mother henning as he carefully tucked the detective into the car and made sure he was buckled and comfortable before finally moving around to the driver’s seat and getting in himself.

He hesitated, taking his time buckling himself, starting the car, adjusting the mirrors, fiddling with the climate control, double checking Shinichi’s seat-belt… He just wasn’t sure what to do. He had an uneasy feeling about taking Shinichi back to the Kudo manor. The kind of feeling that made him really tempted to take the detective home with him and lock him in the secret KID lair until the sniper after his life was caught and they’d reached a proper understanding about each other’s feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's where I got stuck. As you can see, there are two ways I can go with this and I just don't know which one I want to go with. Actually... I guess there's three ways I could do this. 1. Kaito can take Shinichi to the Kudou Manor where he expects to be going and let him have his time and space (and regret it later thanks to the fruition of that uneasy feeling) 2. Kaito could take Shinichi home with him to Ekoda lock him safely away like he wants to and deal with how damn pissed off it will make Shinichi. Or option 3. Would be for him to take Shinichi to the Kudou manor and stay there with him... though honestly I see more potential in the first two.  
> Let me know where you guys think I should take this and if you have any ideas you want to share I'd love to hear them. If you don't want to share them in the comments here, you're more than welcome to pm me on ff.net. [Lockwyn Woodspire](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/3461677/)
> 
> Edit: I'm not stuck anymore. I've decided on a direction and started on it, just been busy so progress has been slow. Thank you everyone for your feedback and for stopping in to read ^_^


	4. Home?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito's made up his mind but why does Shinichi seem determined to find even the smallest excuse to not trust his word?

Taking a deep breath, Kaito decided to go with his gut… Well, except maybe the actually locking Shinichi in the KID lair part. _That_ probably wouldn’t go over too well.

He finally put the car in drive and pulled out of the hospital parking lot.

There was nothing but silence between them for the first twenty minutes. Finally fed up with it, Kaito spoke up.

“Sorry about the rough treatment back there. How is your wound doing? Have you checked it for fresh bleeding?” He asked with obvious concern in his voice.

The detective was staring blankly out the window, but he shrugged in response. “It’s fine.” He said disinterestedly. But then he blinked and seemed to realize where they were and which direction they were heading. “You do know where I live don’t you? Where are you taking me?”

Kaito bit his lip as he carefully considered his words.

“I’m… taking you to my place. If-”

“No! Absolutely not! Take me home KID.” the detective cut him off adamantly.

“Shinichi, I can’t take you home. My gut tells me it’s a bad idea, and quite frankly I don’t feel like I can trust you take proper care of yourself. Heck for all I know you’re planning to make another disappearing act just to avoid _me._ And we both know you should be _resting._ As long as there’s a sniper running rampant somewhere and hellbent on killing you, and until you accept that I’m in love with you and I’m not letting you get rid of me without a good and proper, and _honest,_ reason why you want nothing to do with me, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Shinichi groaned. “This is abduction. You know that right?”

Kaito grinned. “I’m simply protecting you from yourself you suicidal detective. And as long as I inform your mother that you’re in my care for the foreseeable future, no legal action is going to be taken against me unless your mother objects. And seeing as our parents have been good friends for years and I know the truth about Conan, there’s absolutely no reason for her to.”

Huffing the detective settled back again. “I’m not suicidal.” he grumbled, eliciting a laugh from Kaito.

“Could have fooled me.” He smirked and continued. “Now look at it this way Shinichi. I am literally letting you into my own home, handing you my real identity on a silver platter. When all this is said and done, not only will you know who I am and where I live, you’ll have had endless opportunities to gather the evidence to convict me. And if you chose to take it to the police, I won’t stop you.”

The detective’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What’s your game KID? Are you really that confident I won’t find anything? Is this facade you’ve got going on that solidly constructed? Or are you just that desperate to….to...what is it you even want?”

Kaito was silent as he turned onto a residential street, made another turn a couple streets later, and then pulled up in front of his ordinary looking yellow house. Once the car was parked and the engine shut off, he turned to look his detective in the eye.

“I’m sure you’ll find plenty of evidence. I’ll even show you how to enter my secret lair, no strings attached. All I want is for you to be safe. And it would be really nice if you would tell me the truth while we’re at it. After all my great detective, who is it that always insists that truth prevails? This is a gamble for me and i’m going all in, hedging my bet on the belief that even with all the evidence against me at your disposal, you won’t turn me in. And if I’m wrong, then Inspector Nakamori finally gets to put KID behind bars…” He trailed off as he considered what else that would mean. It didn’t help that he had known the Nakamori’s his whole life. Neither of them would take it well, especially Aoko.

“Now who’s suicidal?” Shinichi suddenly chimed in, as though noticing the dark direction Kaito’s thought’s had turned.

Kaito shook himself out of it and grinned. “It’s not suicidal. It’s simply a show of how much faith I have in my favorite critic.” He noted with some satisfaction that the detective didn’t dispute the term of endearment this time. And was that a blush?

“Come on Shinichi, let’s go in, I’ll show you around. You can shower and borrow some clean clothes.”

“KID..” Kaito was just pocketing the key and moving to open his door, but he spun around and placed a finger to his detective's lips.

“Didn't I already introduce myself? It's Kuroba Kaito. Please call me Kaito, Shinichi.”

He couldn't help but smirk at the incredulous look on his detective's face. “You're seriously sticking with _that_ name?”

“Well of course! It's what my parents named me after all. It's the ‘kai’ of sea and ocean, and ‘to’ of soar and fly.” Kaito happily informed him with a slight chuckle at the look of skepticism the modern day Holmes gave him.

“How did you find out about the connection between the Kuroba family and mine?”

The detective persisted.

“My mother.” Kaito grinned. “I wasn’t really planning to pick you up from the hospital, I was still angry at you if you hadn’t noticed. I wanted to let you heal a bit more before I confronted you, but your mother didn’t want you walking home in your condition and apparently Professor Agasa is at some sort of convention today. And since Detective Mouri is out of town on a case, she contacted my mother, who contacted me.” As far as Kaito was concerned, the best part of it all was that it was all true. All of Shinichi’s attempts to pull apart his lies and unmask him would come to nothing because there were no lies, and no masks either.

“Is it really so hard for you to believe that I came as myself today of all days? I’ve practically laid myself bare to you.”

Seeing that Shinichi refused to be convinced, Kaito just shrugged as he let out a sigh. “Let’s just get inside. It’s the quickest way for you to figure out how much of what i’m saying is believable, you can call your mother too.”

As he stepped out of the car, Kaito noted with some interest the way the detective’s face scrunched at the mention of calling his mother.

“Or I could call her.” He offered as he helped Shinichi out of the passenger side. “As myself of course Detective.” He clarified in response to Shinichi’s look of suspicion. “You can listen in of course.”

Shinichi gave him a carefully considering look and slowly nodded.

“Excellent! But first the tour, shower, and clean clothes I promised you.” Kaito pronounced, leading the detective into his home. The tour of the ground floor was leisurely enough to not tax the injured young man, but as quick and efficient as possible. Once they were upstairs things were simpler. He indicated the only two doors to the right. “My mother's room. She's rarely home. And my father's study. It hasn't gotten much use since he died.” Straight ahead of them was the main guest room that he couldn't recall ever being used. Turning down the left hall, he showed Shinichi the bathroom, and the second guestroom.

“And this is my room.” He announced as they arrived at the last unopened door and he invited the detective in with a flourish.

Kaito rather enjoyed watching his detective observing everything with sharp eyes and keen senses, and his expectations of his favorite critic certainly weren't disappointed when after a cursory glance of the room, Shinichi practically made a beeline for the overly large portrait.

“Kuroba Toichi.” Shinichi hummed, studying it.”World’s Greatest Magician. Friend of my father's. My mother's mentor in the art of disguise. And the original Kaitou KID I presume.”

Kaito could feel himself beaming and tried to tone down his smile as the detective turned back to him.

“Which means you might really legitimately be his son.”

Kaito couldn’t help the look of exasperation. “ _Might_? God’s Shinichi. At this point who else would I be?”

As Shinichi opened his mouth to defend the statement, Kaito’s phone rang. He frowned at the unfamiliar number and answered it.

“Hello?”

“KAI-KAI!” The woman’s voice was loud, over-enthusiastic, and familiar if the detective’s flinch was anything to go by.

“Shin-Chan isn’t answering his phone, or the house phone. I was just calling to make sure you got him home okay.”

Kaito bit back a smirk at his detective’s frown.

“Actually miss,” he’d learned his lesson long ago about calling her ma’am, “I brought him to stay at my house for a while until he’s fully recovered and we can be sure he’s safe.”

“Oh! What a wonderful idea! Why didn’t I think about that!? Is he there? Can I talk to him?”

At Shinichi’s wide-eyed frantic headshake, Kaito had to bite back a laugh.

“Actually he’s in the shower right now. I can let him know you called though.”

“Oh, is that so? Well tell that busy bodied son of mine to leave the investigation to his father and get some proper rest. Talk to you later Kaito.”

He swore he heard an audible sigh of relief from the detective as the line went dead.

“Satisfied detective? Or do you have some wilder theories about this elaborate hoax you think I’ve set up?”

Sighing, Shinichi shifted his weight and rolled his eyes. “The real Kuroba Kaito could still be tied up in this house somewhere. It’s not like I know what he really looks like.”

Kaito gave the detective a wide-eyed, exasperated stare, throwing his hands in the air as though wondering how Shinichi thought that idea was even credible.

“Shinichi, my picture is literally all over this house. There’s a recent one with my mother on the mantle downstairs! Are you seriously telling me you didn’t notice? _You_ of all people?”

Shinichi blushed in embarrassment and looked away. “I may or may not have been paying much attention to such details.” He slumped. “I will admit Kuroba Toichi is a pretty strong candidate for having been the original Kaitou KID. Which would mean the likelihood of his son being the second Kaitou KID is actually pretty good.” He relinquished tiredly, seeming to sway a bit where he stood.

Kaito blinked, suddenly remembering that Shinichi probably really shouldn’t standing around on his own. In fact the injured detective was looking awfully pale.

By the time Shinichi even understood what was happening, Kaito had guided him to sit down on the bed and started lifting the detective’s shirt. “Woah, Hey! What are you doing?” he demanded, trying to pull it back down.

“Checking your bandages.” Kaito snapped back, batting the other boy’s hand away and freezing. There were no bandages. Of course, the month in the hospital had been enough time to heal the surface tissue. The bullet had shot clean through, leaving a clear entry and exit wound; and tender mangled flesh that was healing as two matching scars, front and back.

Kaito wasn’t sure Shinichi quite understood what a miracle it was that the bullet that had so narrowly missed his heart hadn’t gone through his spine instead. It had been a close thing on both accounts.

And of course being the idiot he was, Kaito had shoved him against a wall. He cursed himself, knowing that internally the wound was still healing and Shinichi was probably in a lot more pain than he’d been letting on.

“I’m sorry. I was too rough. You must be in a lot of pain.” he murmured, startling the detective as he leaned in and touched his lips, whisper soft, to the wound before pulling away and releasing the captive shirt.

Ignoring the detective’s look of bewilderment, he stepped away and turned to his dresser, pulling out the softest shirt he owned, followed by a pair of comfortable pants.

“Nevermind showering right now. You can do it tomorrow. For now just change into this and try to get some rest. I’ll go pick up your prescription painkillers once you’re settled into bed.”

“KID-”

“Kaito.” The magician corrected with a frown.

“KID.” The detective stubbornly repeated.

“ **_Kaito_ ** . _Please_ Shinichi. I don’t call you Conan. Now that you know my name, _please_ use it.”

Grimacing at the well made point, Shinichi conceded with a sigh.

“Kaito… Thank you…”

Kaito waited a moment for the boy to say what for. When it became clear that he wasn’t going to say anymore, he sighed and turned his back to him. “I can’t say you’re welcome if I don’t know what you’re thanking me for because I don't know if I deserve it. But that’s not important right now. Get changed, so you can get some rest. I'll be right outside the door. Call me when you're done or if you need some help.”

As he turned to go, his movement was halted by Shinichi’s sudden grip on his wrist.

“For everything… Thank you for everything.”

Kaito couldn’t help but turn to blink at him. “I guess you’re welcome for what it’s worth. But I’m pretty sure that I’ve done plenty that you shouldn’t be thanking me for. In anycase, I just want to protect you Shinichi. Both from the remnants of that organization and from yourself.”

The detective didn’t seem to know how to respond to that. He released his hold and Kaito finally stepped out.

“Is there anything you’d like me to pick up from your place while I’m out?” Kaito asked several minutes later as he helped his critic get settled into the guest bed. The question was met with a frown. “Didn’t you bring me here because you had a bad feeling about my place? If that’s the case shouldn’t you steer clear of it?”

Kaito shrugged with upraised arms. “That’s why I want to check things out. If there is anyone watching your house, I’ll find them long before they find me. They’ll never see me enter. It is my specialty after all. If you can’t think of anything important for now, just get some rest. I’ll just get basic necessities. I can always make another trip tomorrow if you think of something.”

He smiled down at his frowning love interest.

“Stop frowning Shinichi. I promise I’ll be fine. They’ll never know I was there. It’s a golden opportunity to possibly learn something about who’s targeting you.”

“I swear if you come back hurt KI- Kaito… I’ll go back home, even if I have to walk there. And nothing you do or say will keep me here.” the detective threatened.

“Awe, is my favorite critic worried about me? I’ll be back safe and sound before you know it.” Kaito promised. “Now you get some rest. And whatever you do, don’t leave the house. I’ll close all the curtains in case you need to go downstairs for something.”

He was halfway out the door when he stopped, as though remembering something.

“Oh yeah. My best friend has a key and a habit of barging in. If you do hear her come in, just stay quiet and don’t leave this room. Trust me when I say, you don’t want to deal with her finding you here when I’m not around. She’ll probably think you’re me, and she’s pretty scary when she’s swinging her mop. I swear she pulls that thing out of nowhere…” he muttered the last bit to himself, then smiled at his charge and stepped out with a little wave. “See you later Shinichi. Please try to get some rest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, this took a lot longer than I expected. I'm not sure I like it but whatever. I like it better than where the next chapter has headed so far. Really not sure if I shouldn't just scrap what I have of chapter 5 and start over. Maybe I'll get Shana's help after all.  
> Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter better than I do. I'll try not to take as long with the next chapter.


	5. The Sniper in Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinichi doesn't have the energy to stop Kaito as he leaves to do something Shinichi feels is reckless. What lies in wait for Kaito at the Kudo mansion?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter might be a bit longer than the others, so yay if it is.  
> Excuses and apologies in the end notes.  
> All I want to say here is that this chapter is dedicated to  Maru-chan for reigniting my motivation and inadvertently being the sounding board that helped me work around my issues with this chapter and bring it to life.

The door closed behind the man as Shinichi shot up. “Wait! Kaito!”  he tried to call after the magician, but he could tell by his retreating footsteps on the stairs that he was too late. Before long the front door thumped shut with what to his paranoid and cynical mind was a rather ominous finality.

“Dammit you stupid thief!” He groaned, falling back onto the pillow, ignoring the pain prompted by his carelessness. He’d never admit it to the thief’s face, but he was definitely worried. They looked enough alike that he knew Kaito would make a prime “Kudo Shinichi” shaped target. 

He didn’t realize he’d closed his eyes till he opened them again and registered how heavy they felt. Despite that, he didn’t want to let them close again. It had been a tiring afternoon, both physically and emotionally, and he knew he needed to sleep, but his concern for the Moonlight Magician, was warring with his body’s demands. How could he sleep while Kaito was out there making a potential target of himself!? His head was raging against his body’s attempts to close his eyes.

* * *

 

Kaito was in his car, a prescription bag on the passenger seat as he pulled up in front of the Kudo manor.

The entire street was empty and clouds of black birds, crows, circled overhead as he switched gears into park. Switching off the key in the ignition and pulling it out, he fumbled and dropped the keys. It took a moment to unbuckle and retrieve them from under the seat before sitting back up. 

He had the keys secured in one hand as the other moved to pull the door latch and push open the door. 

As he stepped out of the vehicle and stood, he stopped, his body shuddered, and then he slumped over the open car door, blood weeping from the gaping bullet hole in his head.

The murder of crows overhead descended.

 

* * *

 

 

“KAITO!” Shinichi jerked out of his sleep screaming the magician’s name, his breathing labored and his hand stretched in front of him. He sat there trying to get his bearings for several long seconds, barely registering the pounding of running footfalls down the hall and into each room moments before the guest room door flew open and Ran? Came flying in.

She stopped, and they blinked at each other for several long moments as he slowly realized she wasn’t Ran.

“You’re not Kaito…?” She questioned in confusion, eyes searching the room for the magician in question. “Aoko heard you scream his name like he was hurt?”

Shinichi’s mind was still catching up to him, he blinked as the name Aoko slowly registered in his mind followed by Kaito.

Kaito’s friend. Aoko was Kaito’s friend… 

Then her other words caught up to him. He’d screamed Kaito’s name? The flash of the headshot and the murder of crows caused him to pale and he swallowed painfully. “Nightmare… I had a Nightmare.” He croaked.

* * *

 

Aoko stared at the stranger in Kaito’s guest room. She’d thought he was Kaito at first, which hadn’t made sense because why would Kaito scream his own name? But then as they’d stared at each other, something about his expression hadn’t set right with her. Kaito never showed that much expression. 

Not even when she threatened him with fish!

Then she’d noticed the other, more subtle differences. The eye color, the facial structure… the  _ hair. _ She’d been trying to tame Kaito’s hair since kindergarten. She knew that level of neatness was impossible, even if it was currently slightly ruffled from apparent sleep… Or maybe  _ because _ it was only currently slightly ruffled from apparent sleep?

She looked on in concern as he seemed to slowly process her words and his already pale and clammy complexion seemed to pale more, and his voice croaked painfully, as he seemed to admit that he’d had a nightmare. It almost seemed he said it as much himself as for her.

 

Aoko winced. “Stay there, Aoko will get you some water.” she ordered as she turned and headed downstairs for the kitchen.

She didn’t know who he was, but she could tell he wasn’t well. And whoever he was, and whatever his nightmare had been, he’d obviously been really concerned about Kaito. As far as she was concerned he couldn’t be too bad a person if he could be that concerned for her idiot friend.

 

She was just coming out of the kitchen with water, when the front door swung open.

 

* * *

 

Kaito groaned. Picking up Shinichi’s painkillers was no problem. 

Spotting the guy in black with his sights trained on the kudo mansion's front gate? Also no problem.   
Kaito had parked down the street around the corner, well out of sight of the place. Careful circumspection of the area had revealed that the sniper, with his gun trained on the front gate from the house across the street, was the only source of his bad feeling about Shinichi’s house.   


So getting in and packing a bag of necessities had also been no problem. 

As he’d finished, he’d stopped to place a call from the house phone. He knew being informed of the sniper trained on Shinichi’s house would set the police off like a kicked anthill and he planned to be long gone by the time they arrived. 

None of _that_ , had been a problem.

The girl currently coming down the street and almost level with his car was very much a problem. 

It wouldn’t make sense for them to just shoot her, their target being one detective in particular, but that didn’t mean she’d be safe. 

Sighing, Kaito tossed the duffle into his car and stepped back to intercept her.

“Excuse me. Miss Mouri?”

The girl stopped and the thief smiled, hiding his relief behind his poker face, while she looked him over in confusion.

“Shinichi why-” 

Kaito was already shaking his head. “While I’ll admit the resemblance is striking, I am not Shinichi.”

Presenting her with a simple yellow rose, he gave her a flourishing showman’s bow. “My name is Kuroba Kaito. Magician Extraordinaire. My parents are great friends of the Kudos. From what Shinichi’s mother told my mother though, you should be out of town with your father. That’s the reason I was called after all.” He gave her a politely questioning look.

“H-hello. Nice to meet you.” she seemed a bit taken aback as she finally responded. “I um.. Was supposed to join my father after my class ended, but I heard Shinichi was getting discharged today. They said he’d already gone home when I stopped by the hospital.”

Kaito nodded. “Yeah, I’m the one who picked him up from the hospital. His mother and I decided it would be best if he stayed with me for a while though. Otherwise who knows what trouble he’d get himself into on his own! He certainly wouldn’t be getting the rest he needs.” He grinned.

The girl giggled at his prediction. “No doubt. He’s such a workaholic! Thank you for looking after him.” she smiled.

Kaito shrugged. “It’s the least I could do. I was just picking up some of his things for him.” Ran nodded understanding, and gave him a speculative look. “Would it be okay if I visit?”

“Certainly.” The magician smiled. “Not today though. He’s probably sleeping and he really needs his rest.” He explained. “I can give you the address. Would you like to come by tomorrow? How about around one? I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you!”

The girl nodded slowly. “Is it far from here?” she asked.

“Kinda…” Kaito admitted sheepishly. “I live in Ekoda. Here’s the address and my phone number.” With a small puff of smoke, the scrap of paper appeared in his outstretched hand. She looked a little startled, but there was hint of wonder there as well that stoked Kaito’s ego as a magician as she accepted the paper.

“Give me a call if you need me to pick you up.” He offered as she carefully tucked it away in her bag.

“Thank you. I can take the train though. I don’t want to be an inconvenience. I am already going to be intruding on your home.” She said politely.

Kaito looked affronted. “Such a lovely lady an inconvenience? Never! If it will make you feel better though, I’ll pick you up from the train station. instead!”

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but after giving it some thought she nodded. “Well alright, if you insist. I’ll text you the arrival time for my train tomorrow.”

Kaito nodded in satisfaction. “Sounds like a plan~” He grinned momentarily, but then his expression sobered. “On a more serious note Miss Mouri-”

“Please call me Ran.” the girl interrupted.

“Ran-chan then~” He grinned at the name. “Just steer clear of Shin-chan’s house for a while okay? With someone after his life, it’s not safe. I’d hate for them to have the chance to use you against him.”

Ran nodded slowly, as though carefully considering his words and a frown began to crease her brow. “But didn’t you just come from there?” She asked, eyeing the duffle he tossed in his still open car.

Kaito nodded. “That’s how I know it’s being watched. That’s also why I  intercepted you here. Don’t worry, I’ve notified someone. Hopefully they’ll be able to catch the person and that will be the end of it. For now just be careful on your way home. Shinichi would hate himself if he felt like something happened to you because of him.”

Nodding her understanding, Ran bid him a polite farewell and headed home.

Kaito made one last check on the sniper watching Shinichi’s house before heading back to his car and heading home.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I took so long! I kept getting stuck and lost all motivation.  
> Be sure to check out this chapter's (*coughstory'scough*) savior  Maru-chan She's got some stories of her own as well as a collection of rather interesting angsty KaiShin prompts.  
> Hope you guys liked the chapter. If you can spare a moment, please stop by the comment section to let me know what you thought or share your ideas and opinions about the chapter and the story. Talking to people about it is what helps keep me motivated.  
> I don't always know what to say in response (I'm awkward that way), but I'll do my best to respond if I can.


	6. So about this story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Super important A/N about the future of this fanfic.

I've decided I don't like it and I'm starting over.

Or rather I already have started over. I kept most of the beginning up into Shinichi's conversation with KID in the Hospital, but changed some things. Most especially how that conversation ends up going. I'm much happier with how it's going now, and my goal is to write as much of it as I can before I start posting.

Sorry to anyone who was particularly attached to this version. I still have the original file so maybe one day if I ever get a hankering to finish this version it will end up back on here finished. No promises, sorry.

Haven't decided yet if I want to leave this version here like this and create a new post for the new version, delete this story post and create a new post for the new version, of just replace the chapters in this one.

 

**What do you guys suggest?**

 

**P.S.**

**Here's a little sneak preview of the change.**

“… I’m  _ not _ . I lied so that I could attend the heists and you would take me seriously from the beginning. I’m  _ not _ Conan.”

The words were met by silence for a time, and then Shinichi suddenly found himself looking up at the thief as KID bent over him, wrenching the detectives arm from his face. KID didn’t say anything as he stared at Shinichi for a time in obvious rage. When he finally spoke his words were ice cold and deadly serious.

“That hurts detective. That really hurts. Both that you would lie like that to my face, and that you think that Shinichi Kudo means any less to me than Conan Edogawa at this point.”

Shinichi’s eyes widened in disbelief at those words, his quickened heartbeat made embarrassingly obvious by the beeping of the EKG machine by his bed, he could only hope KID was too distracted to notice.

Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus. The gymnastics of his heart, and the pain he may or may not be causing the man above him aside, there was a point to this.

 

**P.P.S**

**Despite how hopeful and sweet this ^ tidbit seems, it's actually about to get super angsty.**

Yes, that's right. The new version is angstier. I'm sorry Kaito. I know you were struggling enough with Shinichi as it was, but you just didn't have enough angst.

 

So yeah. Coming up next on Lies about Lies: Angst and betrayal. Lots of betrayal. And maybe awkward "first" meetings?


End file.
